Mentoring and Support

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I am getting several computers in my room (yea! ) and I would really like to purchase some CAD software for my Interior Design class. Is there anyone that has implemented CAD into their ID class and any particular software you would recommend? Thanks!

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Just the other evening I attended a meeting of cooperating teachers and student teachers at NMSU’s Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. Dr. Merrilyn Cummings and Linda Wells led a session on the expectations of both cooperating and student teachers, as well as their roles as program coordinators. I am truly amazed with the quality of work these 2 women share with FACS teachers/ teachers-in-training. Some of the expectations we shared included: being organized and supportive, being open to new possibilities, sharing our resources, giving our best and having fun!

Let us never forget why we have chosen our professions. I really feel that by being Family and Consumer Sciences teachers, we are teaching our youth the skills they need for their personal development, which will in turn lead to a better society. Just imagine what each of our communities would be like if all of our students learned and applied the skills we teach them! Keep up the good work!

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Just a small note to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

Enjoy your time spent with loved ones!

Blessings!

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Registration information is now posted on the FCSTAT Web site  www.fcstat.org for the Midwinter Tri-Cluster Conference, January 23-24, 2009 at the Radisson Hotel Austin North in Austin, Texas.

Please note there will be a Mentor/Mentee Session for new and returning teachers on Saturday, Jan. 24 from 7:30 -8:15 a.m.  This will be a great opportunity for mentors and mentees to meet face-to-face and get to know one another. A light continental breakfast will be served so please be sure to mark this session on your registration form. If you have any questions, contact Heather Blount at the Curriculum Center for Family and Consumer Sciences.

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Does anyone know when we can begin registering for the Mid-Winter conference that is in January? I will be leaving for maternity leave in a few short weeks and I would like to have all that completed before I leave! I have looked online and can not find any information about when we can register. Thanks for any help!

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Times are changing and I must admit that I find myself overwhelmed with everything electronic: computers, cell phones, cameras, calendars, etc. I still remember the day I bought my first black and white television set! It had two big dials and access to four television stations, three in English and one in Spanish. I was thrilled! The instruction manual was simple and easy to follow, unlike the manuals for all of the electrical gadgets we have today! I remember listening to records as a young girl in elementary-high school, eight tracks as a college student, cassettes post-college and now compact discs. I refuse to “get to” the I-Pods, it’s just too much for me!

Never in my mind did I dream that my students would have cellular telephones, much less use them in a classroom!  We all know that our students have them, and use them during class. It really doesn’t take much to notice a student’s eyes constantly looking downward, object(s) hidden behind a backpack/purse or underneath a desk. This causes me great concern! I want my students to give me their undivided attention! 

Phones are taken away from the students and turned in to the office, yet they somehow show up again, much like dust underneath the window panes! Even though I am known to be on the “too nice” side by some, when I do catch my students with a phone, I ask ”What can be more important to you right now than this lesson?” That question encourages them to think. But I am asking a very important question. I need my students to be “present” with me while they are in class.

When my students are not abiding by the classroom rules, I refer to a form I wrote in which they have to indicate which classroom rules they have broken. They have to explain what they did and why they did it, sign and date the form. I then slip it into their file. “What file?” One of my most useful classroom tools is right next to my lecturn. It is a large file box, complete with student folders, arranged by class periods.

At the beginning of every school year, I give each of my students a folder and have my students personalize them. They do this with drawings, magazine pictures, photographs and stickers. The folders are then used until the end of the school year. I drop their passes (hall, nurse, etc.), samples of their work and the forms mentioned above in the folders. This helps with documentation and the folders are easy to pull out for ARD’s, meetings, Parent/Teacher conferences, referrals, etc.

… Take the time to find a system that works for you. You’ll be glad you did!

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I have always enjoyed giving little gifts to my students whether for fun, holidays or whatever. Last year, just after Halloween I purchased about 150 small Halloween puzzles for my students for the upcoming school year.

I just passed the puzzles out in some of my classes today. The students really enjoyed them. Sure, I teach high school, but high school kids are sometimes just like little kids, but in big bodies!

As I am distributing the gifts, I teach my students about giving and receiving.  One of my students (Carlos) just said he also learned something else today. He said  ”We also learn to appreciate what people give in life for someone else’s happiness.”

Well said Carlos! It is students like you that are a pleasure to teach!

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One thing that I do in class to make reading aloud a bit more fun is to call on a student, have them read, and then ask them to call on someone that … they admire because of their intelligence, has a nice smile, has a great personality, etc. My students seem to really like this activity and actually pay attention as they are reading!

Yesterday I asked a student to call on someone that she really admired to read the following section. She then asked “Can it be you?” I replied “Sure, why not?” Some of my students said “Ahhh!” in unison. I thanked her and told my class that was the best part of my day! (And, it really was!)

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This is my 19th year of teaching and I still love it! I must admit that things have changed significantly over the past years, but I simply remind myself of my purpose in life. . .  to teach. I always wanted to be a teacher. As a young girl in elementary school I would “play teacher” and had my own grade book (with several rubber bands separating the pages, just like my teachers’), used a flip chart & a pointer, wrote on a small green chalkboard with white chalk, etc.

Now, I am living that dream. Except I have 2 gradebooks (a brown one with its pages separated by paper clips & divider tabs and another gradebook on my computer),  utilize all types of paper such as poster boards & butcher paper, and my “white board” has objectives and lessons written on it in brightly colored dry-erase markers.

The one thing that has remained constant is the love that I have for my students. There are times that, in the middle of a test, I stop my students and ask for their attention. I then tell them “I know this is going to sound really weird, but I want you all to know that I love you all very much.” … And, i mean it. I usually get responses of “Ahhh, we love you too Miss!” or even a few looks of perplexity, but I get lots of big, beautiful smiles! I believe that by my students knowing that I love them, they will feel secure and this in turn will somehow get them to try a little harder.

Just the other day, one of my colleagues (who uses my office when she floats) told me that my students are really good to me. She said that they are respectful and sincere and that it is because of the way that I treat them. I hope to always have their respect. The Golden Rule is my favorite rule! It does work!

Should you be experiencing some tough times, don’t forget our purpose. Our students need us, especially now, more than ever!

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